I AM STILL REELING FROM THE HIGH OF WATCHING THAT SHIT GO DOWN IN REAL TIME? AND IT HAS BEEN MANY DAYS?
And, I think for me, it went even beyond the amazing things it said for and about women. I grew up in AR, a TX border state, and I've spent my whole life being varying degrees of involved in the local and state politics, and I KNOW how hard it can be to be a part of the political minority and still be heard, and I KNOW that it can be overwhelmingly easy for the elected officials of the minority party to get tired of fighting so hard all the time and start caving in on more and more things, and seeing a group of only five people stand up in the face of the opposition controlled senate and refuse to stand down and refuse to take it anymore and then WIN? It wasn't just a beautiful thing to watch as a woman and a feminist, it was a inspiring thing to watch as a liberal from a red state. Because we HAVE to move forward not back, and that's never going to happen in parts of this country without leaders like them who are willing to risk a whole hell of lot to do their jobs and be the voices of their constituents. And I have a lot of feelings about politics, can you tell (I'm not saying I took a picture of my absentee ballot in November because it was the first presidential election that I voted in, but I'm not denying it either...)?
I NEED TO HAVE MORE TIME IN MY LIFE! I CANNOT WITH HOW MUCH THIS WHOLE THING WAS THE MOST GORGEOUS THING IN THE WORLD.
And, I think for me, it went even beyond the amazing things it said for and about women. Yes. This.
And I have a lot of feelings about politics, can you tell I grew up in predominantly blue states, in childhood homes that were violently Conservative. To the point that for many childhood years I believed "Feminist" was literally a bad word - the most horrific name you could call a woman. So I didn't become interested or involved in politics until college. And it's really *difficult* to find people who are as passionate as I am - so a lot of my close friends don't know how much I follow and care about politics. Even on a global scale.
And the whole: "we have to keep moving forward" thing? I was right in the thick of it when Obama was voted into his first term. And Prop 8 passed in CA. In the same moment - we had our first black president and CA citizens lost the right to marry. I feel a lot of apathy from people younger than me - the generation that wasn't PART of that voting year. That didn't *fight* only to lose and win in the same breath.
I cried when Prop 8 passed.
But many people seem to have forgotten that those two things happened on the same day.
It makes me feel desperate and also sort of even more passionate about things.
Because even as I'm happy with Wendy Davis and the whole process. Their fight isn't over. And the same thing happened in Ohio the next day - without a struggle and without fanfare.
It's easy to shrug and let go - so easy to get tired. Because it is all so exhausting.
I AM STILL REELING FROM THE HIGH OF WATCHING THAT SHIT GO DOWN IN REAL TIME? AND IT HAS BEEN MANY DAYS?
And, I think for me, it went even beyond the amazing things it said for and about women. I grew up in AR, a TX border state, and I've spent my whole life being varying degrees of involved in the local and state politics, and I KNOW how hard it can be to be a part of the political minority and still be heard, and I KNOW that it can be overwhelmingly easy for the elected officials of the minority party to get tired of fighting so hard all the time and start caving in on more and more things, and seeing a group of only five people stand up in the face of the opposition controlled senate and refuse to stand down and refuse to take it anymore and then WIN? It wasn't just a beautiful thing to watch as a woman and a feminist, it was a inspiring thing to watch as a liberal from a red state. Because we HAVE to move forward not back, and that's never going to happen in parts of this country without leaders like them who are willing to risk a whole hell of lot to do their jobs and be the voices of their constituents. And I have a lot of feelings about politics, can you tell (I'm not saying I took a picture of my absentee ballot in November because it was the first presidential election that I voted in, but I'm not denying it either...)?
Reply
And, I think for me, it went even beyond the amazing things it said for and about women.
Yes. This.
And I have a lot of feelings about politics, can you tell
I grew up in predominantly blue states, in childhood homes that were violently Conservative. To the point that for many childhood years I believed "Feminist" was literally a bad word - the most horrific name you could call a woman. So I didn't become interested or involved in politics until college. And it's really *difficult* to find people who are as passionate as I am - so a lot of my close friends don't know how much I follow and care about politics. Even on a global scale.
And the whole: "we have to keep moving forward" thing? I was right in the thick of it when Obama was voted into his first term. And Prop 8 passed in CA. In the same moment - we had our first black president and CA citizens lost the right to marry. I feel a lot of apathy from people younger than me - the generation that wasn't PART of that voting year. That didn't *fight* only to lose and win in the same breath.
I cried when Prop 8 passed.
But many people seem to have forgotten that those two things happened on the same day.
It makes me feel desperate and also sort of even more passionate about things.
Because even as I'm happy with Wendy Davis and the whole process. Their fight isn't over. And the same thing happened in Ohio the next day - without a struggle and without fanfare.
It's easy to shrug and let go - so easy to get tired. Because it is all so exhausting.
ilu
Reply
Leave a comment